


A Second Chance at Life

by SpiritofLove961



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Dreamscapes, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 17:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18503452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritofLove961/pseuds/SpiritofLove961
Summary: (set after BF ending) Before Eiji and Ibe get on the plane to Japan, they overhear that Ash was sent the hospital after being stabbed. They decide to stay in America with everyone one to be there for the young gang leader while he recovers and find out how this came about in the first place. Will Ash recover? Will Eiji be able to be with his friend again?





	1. Chapter One

 

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Banana Fish or its characters.** _

At the airport, Eiji and Ibe were saying their final goodbyes to everyone before boarding their plane. As the two Japanese males were about to the head to the airline gate, Charlie heard his cell phone ring and pulled it out of his pocket. "Hello, this is Charlie. Yes; Inspector Jenkins is with me." he said into the receiver. As he was listening to the person on the other end, the red haired detective's face suddenly went pale. "What; please tell me you're joking!" Everyone noticed the detective's behavior and gave him questioning looks, wondering what he was so excited about. "Where is he; okay, we'll get there as soon as we can, bye!" he replied before ending the call.

After he did, Max asked him in a worried tone, "Charlie, what's going on?"

"And why do I get the feeling, it's not good thing?" Jessica asked hoping she was wrong.

"It's Ash; apparently he was stabbed and was transported to the hospital."

"What?!" everyone said in a huge panic.

"It's true; a librarian saw him bleeding and called the ambulance. They didn't say exactly how he's doing, but it didn't sound too good."

Eiji couldn't believe what he just heard. A feeling of dread came over him like it did when the news was saying Ash was dead. 'No, not again; it can't be! I have to go; Ash needs me!' The Japanese male started to get out of his wheelchair despite the pain he was still feeling from his wound. Ibe noticed this and tried to stop him, "Ei-chan, what are you doing; you can't be walking right now!" the photographer said in concern.

"I have to go; I have to see him!" the dark haired teen replied trying to walk only to have Ibe hold him back.

"Ei-chan, I know you're worried about Ash, but it's time for us to go. Your family is waiting for you to return to Japan."

"I realize that and I know it'll make them worry even more, but I have to get to that hospital. I need to be there for Ash; I can't just leave him like this."

"Ei-chan…"

"Look Ibe-san, I know we've been through a lot since we came here and I know you just want what's best for me, but I'm not getting on that plane until I know for sure Ash will be alright. If I leave now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Please just try to understand." the black haired teen desperately begged his caretaker.

Max sighed as he placed his hand on the older Japanese male's shoulder. "You know Ibe, I don't think the kid's going to take no for an answer this time."

"But…" Before the photographer could say another word, he saw the look into the Japanese teen's dark eyes. He could tell that he truly wanted to be there for a friend regardless of his well being. Ibe sighed as he replied, "Okay, if it means that much to you, Ei-chan, but were going together."

"Deal; thank you so much, Ibe-san." Eiji replied with a grateful smile on his face.

Just then, they all saw Sing, Alex, Kong and Bones head up to them. "Hey, what are you two still doing here, Eiji?" Sing asked.

"Yeah, you guys got a plane to catch; don't ya?" Alex added.

"Unfortunately, there's been a change of plans, you guys. Right now, we have to get to the hospital." the black haired teen answered.

"The hospital; why do we need to go there?" Bones asked.

"It's Ash; he was stabbed and loss a lot of blood, so he's on the way there." Ibe answered.

"You've got to be kidding me; not the Boss!" Kong said in shock.

"When did this happen?!" the young Chinatown boss asked.

"We'll talk about that later; right now we got to get to that hospital!" Max said in an urgent tone.

"Max's right; you all should head on down to the hospital." Charlie said before turning to Inspector Jenkins, "We were called to head on over to the crime scene, sir."

"Then we better get down there; we'll meet you all at the hospital later." Inspector Jenkins said while he and Charlie headed out of the airport. After the two detectives left, the others headed out of the hospital as well. Max, Ibe, Eiji and Sing piled into Max's car while Alex, Bones, Kong and Jessica piled into her car before they both drove off to the hospital.

* * *

Once the vehicles were parked in the hospital's parking lot, everyone got out and headed into the building. A doctor who was walking by happened to see the panicked group and walked up to them. "May I help you all?" he asked them.

"Yes, we were told a young man was transported to this hospital and we came to see about him." Max told him.

"Would you by any chance be asking about Mr. Ash Lynx." the medical professional asked.

"Yes that's him." Jessica replied.

"How's the boss; is he gonna be okay?" Alex asked.

"We just got him out of recovery. Mr. Lynx had lost a lot of blood from his stab wound, but surprisingly, he still breathing." the doctor said to them while they all blew sighs of relief, but they were short lived as the doctor continued, "However, he hasn't woken up yet and from the looks of it, the chances of that happening are really slim. He is very lucky the ambulance got to him when they did, a second later and he wouldn't have made it through recovery."

"Sir, is it alright if we see him?" Eiji asked the doctor hoping they could.

"That's fine, but due to his condition only one or two people can see him at a time. Me and the other nurses will have to check on him periodically to see about his condition. The room he is in Room 104; go down this hall and make a left. The buzzer is right by his bed, so if there is anything you need or if his condition should change, make sure to let us know."

"We will Doctor and thank you." Jessica told the medical professional before he nodded and left them to handle his other duties.

Sing turned to Eiji and said to him, "Eiji, you should go in first to see about Ash."

"Okay I will." the black haired Japanese male replied as Ibe wheeled him to his friend's hospital room. Once they arrived to Room 104, Ibe opened the door before wheeling Eiji in. Once they were in, Eiji gasped at the sight. There was Ash lying on the bed hooked up to an IV and other beeping machines looking so lifeless. Ibe wheeled him closer to the bed and the older male pursed his lips at the sight. The sight of young gang leader holding on for dear life by machines made his heart wrench. "I can't believe this happened; Ash finally has no enemies after his life anymore, so why?!" the elder photographer said gritting his teeth.

"It's not fair; Ash didn't deserve this. I'm really thankful help got to him when it did. I can't bear to think what would've happened if it was too late."

"Ei-chan…"

"But I'm not going to despair because I know that Ash will pull out of this. He did after the fall out with Arthur, so he'll do it again; we just have to have faith." Eiji said to the other with determined eyes.

Ibe was shocked for a brief moment but then smiled at the younger male, "I got to say Ei-chan you've gotten stronger since you've come here."

Eiji gave a small smile as he lightly scratched his cheek with his index finger, "I guess it was Ash's influence or maybe I'm just stubborn."

"Well regardless, we will stay until Ash gets wakes up. I should be able to find a way around the visa issue, but I'm going to have to do a lot of convincing to your parents since we won't be coming home yet."

"Don't worry about that Ibe-san, I'll handle convincing them. Since this was all my idea, the last thing I want is for you to take the fall."

"Are you sure, Ei-chan?"

"I'm sure; I know I'm being selfish by doing this, but I just can't leave Ash like this."

Ibe nodded as he placed his hand on the teen's shoulder, "I understand your feelings, Ei-chan; we'll see this through to the end, I promise."

* * *

In the hospital lobby, Sing, Alex, Bones and Kong were sitting in the chairs while Jessica called her sister to check on Michael and Max continued talking to the doctor who treated Ash. "I still can't believe this happened to the Boss, again." Bones said.

Kong pounded his fist in his other hand as he said in anger, "All I know is when I find out who did this, they're gonna regret the day they were born."

"There's still one thing that's buggin' me about this." Alex said aloud.

"What's that?" Bones asked his friend.

"Who would want to do this to the Boss in the first place?" the brown haired teen asked.

"So you were wondering the same thing to, huh?" Sing added, "All the guys that were after Ash were done for. Arthur's dead, the mercenary creep was shot to death by Dino before the old baldy took a fiery dirt nap when that facility blew up."

"Maybe it was some rouge gang member we don't know about who had it in for Boss." Bones suggested.

"No way; given the Boss' rep, no one's dumb enough to attack the boss especially in broad daylight." Kong added.

"Well other than that girly looking Chinese head, Yut Lung or whatever his name is, I can't think of anyone else who would want to do the boss in." Alex said

"It couldn't have been Yut Lung; he's given up on going after Ash. I know that for a fact and even if he did, this isn't his style." Sing told them.

"Then who else could've done it?" Bones asked.

The young Chinatown boss kept pondering on that until a thought struck him. His eyes widened as he could feel his blood run cold. 'No, it couldn't have been him?! Damn it, I better be wrong!'

Alex noticed the pale look on Sing's face and asked him, "Yo Sing, you feeling alright man?"

"Yeah, you look like ya saw a ghost or somethin'." Bones added.

Sing immediately rose up from his seat and told them, "There's something I gotta do; I'll be back later. Let me know if anything changes with Ash." Before Ash's boys could even utter a word, the Chinese American began to run out of the building ignoring a nearby nurse telling him not to run in the hospital.

"Geez, what got into him?" Alex asked scratching the back of this head as his other two friends shrugged their shoulders wondering the same thing.

Sing was running down the street for dear life ignoring the stares people were giving him. He could feel his legs grow heavier with every step he took, but he had to keep going; he had to know if his suspicion was correct and he hoped to God it wasn't. _'You better not have had anything to do with this, brother!'_

**To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter Two

 

Once Sing arrived at the Central Library, he saw a whole crowd of people standing around the property observing the scene. He saw police cars, a forensics vehicle, and an ambulance parked in front of the building. The area where the vehicles were parked was blocked by tall orange cones and "Do Not Cross" tape. Sing went up to a nearby observer and asked him, "Excuse me, do you know what's goin' on?"

"Actually, I got here about an hour ago. From what I heard a young blond male was taken to the hospital earlier. However, someone found another body a couple blocks from the library and reported it to the authorities."

The young Chinatown leader shuddered at the sound of that. He had a feeling he was going to regret it, but he had to ask about the other body. "Did you hear about who it was?"

"I heard it was the body of a young man that looked like he was in his late teens-early 20's and he was Chinese."

Sing's eyes widened in shock as he thanked the man for answering his questions and quickly made his way through the crowd. Once he got to where the barricade was, he was trying to get under the yellow police tape. Just then an officer saw what the young teen was doing and stopped him, "Hold it kid, this area is off limits to civilians!"

As the office was trying to hold him back, Sing caught a glimpse of the body the coroner was about to take away. His face grew pale as he saw who it was; it was Lao. The young Chinese teen was able to escape the officer so he could get under the police tape. "Hey, get back here!" the office yelled as he went after him.

Just then Charlie and Inspector Jenkins happened to see Sing and their fellow officer holding him back. They ran up to him and Charlie said, "Sing, what are you doing here? We thought you were at the hospital?"

"Sorry Detective, this kid got away from me. I'll get him out of here right now." the officer said tried to pull the fighting teen away.

"Stop it man, that's my brother! I have every right to be here so put me down, will ya?!" Sing cried out struggling to get free from the officer's grasp.

"Wait a minute there; let him go, officer." Inspector Jenkins told the policeman and the office obeyed. "Now then Sing, did you say that young man is your brother?"

"Yeah that's right; what happened to Lao?"

"After your brother's body was found, forensics discovered he was shot in the stomach and died due to massive blood loss. However, they discovered a knife in his hand with blood on the blade." Charlie answered.

"Blood…oh no don't tell me…"

"I'm afraid so son, the blood on the blade matched the blood found where Ash was sitting when he was bleeding from his stab wound. We can only assume he stabbed Ash and then Ash shot him." Inspector Jenkins added.

The Chinatown boss had a feeling that Lao was behind what happened to Ash, but he didn't think he was right. He stood there in shock as Charlie came up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I can only imagine how much of a shock this is for you, Sing. Finding out your brother is the reason Ash is fighting for his life and losing him like this. I'm really sorry for your loss." the red haired detective said to the teen in concern.

"You're welcome to go with the coroner if you want." Inspector Jenkins added.

"We would go with you but we have to finish up things here."

"That's cool; thanks you two." the black haired teen replied as he went with the coroners after they put his brother's body in the truck.

Inspector Jenkins wiped his brow with his handkerchief and sighed heavily, "It never ends…"

"I agree; you'd think all this would be over and done with but it just keeps coming." Charlie added, "Let's just hope that Ash survives this and we don't see him riding in the back of that truck."

"Amen to that." the inspector replied before he and his partner went back to handling the investigation.

* * *

Later on that night, Yut Lung happened to see a "Breaking News" bulletin flash across the TV Screen. He reached the nearby remote and turned up the volume. A brown haired female reporter appeared on the screen and she was standing a few blocks from the Central Library. "I'm coming to you live from in front of the Central Library where earlier today, a young blond teen was found inside bleeding from a stab wound in his lower abdomen. A librarian found the teen bleeding while he was sitting at a table and immediately called 911. We received word that the victim was 18 year old, Ash Lynx who was said to have died months ago in a gang related incident, but it turned out he did not." Yut Lung's dark eyes widened in disbelief as he listened to the reporter continue her report, "I was told the young man is in critical condition, but we have not heard anything else in regards to whether or not he will make it. Also a few blocks from the library, a bystander found a dead body and reported it to the authorities. Investigators discovered the victim was Lao Yen-Thai who was shot and died due to the blood loss. What shocked investigators the most, was a bloodied knife was found in his hand. When forensics investigated it, it turned out the blood matched the blood found in the library where Lynx was discovered."

Before he heard the female reporter say another word, Yut Lung turned off the TV and stared at the dark screen in shock, "This can't be happening."

"Well believe it, because it is." The young Lee turned around to see Sing standing in the doorway frowning.

"Sing; I take it you overheard the news report." Yut-Lung said to him.

"I didn't have to, I was at the crime scene and I just got back from the coroner. Because of his boneheaded decision, Lao is dead and right now Ash is fighting for his life in the hospital."

"I see…" The young Lee stared at the ground in remorse as he asked, "Considering my role in this, you have every right to blame me for it."

"Well that's too bad because I don't."

At the sound of those words, Yut-Lung immediately looked up at the other in shock, "What, why not. When my men took him away, I was the one that talked Lao into trying to kill Eiji and planted the idea for him to take revenge on Ash for what happened to Shorter."

Sing shook his head and said, "While that is true, if anyone's to blame for any of this it's me. When I found out why Ash had to shoot Shorter, I wanted to tell my buddies the truth, but Ash told me not to because if they found out about that damn drug, they would be killed; a lot of good that did. Looking back on it, I sensed that Lao harbored a deep hatred for Ash, but I never thought he would go that far."

"I think the only reason Lao attacked Ash was to keep you safe. At least that's what I was trying to sell him." the young Lee confessed.

Sing sucked his teeth in annoyance as he replied, "Yeah right; he was an idiot. Besides if it wasn't for what Ash did for me at that mental institute, I'd be dead right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I was hanging for dear life over a sea of fire. Even though Ash had his hands tied with that psycho mercenary, Foxx, he still pulled me out of that jam. He was injured in that fight with Foxx and still helped me."

"Ash did that; he never ceases to amaze me." Yut-Lung said in amazement.

Sing pounded his fist in his upper leg in anger, "Damn it; if Ash doesn't pull thorough this, how can I even look the others in the eye knowing Lao did this especially Eiji."

"Eiji, he's still here; I thought he went back to Japan"

"He and Ibe were going to, but then they overheard that Ash was in the hospital. Eiji wanted to stay and he wouldn't take no for an answer; when it comes to Ash, he can be real stubborn when he wanna be."

The long haired teen gave a small smile as he said, "I shouldn't be surprised that he stayed. He always stuck to Ash like glue and the same was for Ash too."

Sing nodded in agreement as he said, "Well yeah, that's his best friend; of course he's gonna be there for him."

"That's true, but I think it goes deeper than that." Yut-Lung said as he thought about the times the Japanese male showed him that he was more than a naïve teen with a privileged childhood.

"You may be right about that; then again, you can never know with those two. Well, I better head on back to the hospital to see how things are going. I'll let you know if anything new happens." Before Sing headed out, Yut-Lung stopped him.

"Wait a minute, Sing; I need to ask you something."

"What's up?"

"I'm partially responsible for what happened to your brother and Ash, so why aren't you blaming me for it? You're even risking your friends' trust by keeping me posted on Ash's condition considering what I did to them; so why?"

The young gang leader gave a small sigh as he scratched the back of his head, "Geez, could ya stop with the whole "I'm guilty" routine; it's startin' to rub me the wrong way."

"It's not a routine; you know what I'm saying is true, so why are you treating me like a normal person instead of an enemy?"

"If ya really wanna know I'll tell ya why. Despite your personality and background, you're just a normal guy who was done wrong and I feel sorry for you. Also I know what it's like being under the thumb of an older sibling who think they know what's best for you or who think they can do whatever the hell they want." Sing grinned at the other as he said, "In that retrospect, we little brothers gotta stick together. Just know that even if everyone is against ya, ya got at least one guy in your corner. See ya around, young master."

When Sing went out the door, Yut-Lung just stared blankly at it. He couldn't believe what he just heard the other say. Despite the horrible things he did, Sing was willing to be there for him and care about him. The long haired male was amazed at how those simple words made him feel good. It was a feeling that had long left him when his mother left his world. At that moment, the young Lee felt his heart pound. He placed his hand over his chest and wondered why that happened. 'What's this strange feeling I have? Is this what they call joy or is it something more? Maybe this is what Ash felt having Eiji around him.'

* * *

As Sing was walking back to the hospital, the moon shined down brightening the night. He stopped in place and started up at the starlit sky and the moon. The image of Eiji anxiously waiting at Ash's bedside in the hospital came to his mind. 'Ash, you've come out of a lot of crazy situations again and again since I've known you. You had better survive this time, at least for Eiji's and all out sakes.'

**To Be Continued**


	3. Chapter Three

 

About a year later, the young blond gang leader was still in a coma and Eiji continued to stay by his side until he woke up. Luckily, Ibe was able to find a way to lengthen his and Eiji's visas so they can continue staying in New York. Eiji sat in the chair next to Ash's bedside, watching for any sign of change. As he watched over the other, he thought back to the conversation he had with his mother a couple of months ago. It was hard for Ibe to convince her to let him stay this long, but in the end, it was Eiji that was able to convince her to let him stay.

**(A couple of months ago…)**

_"Listen, I know we've been here too long, and I know were supposed to be back by now, but things have changed." Ibe said to Eiji's mother only to have her argue with him on the other end._

_Overhearing the conversation outside the room, Eiji stepped out of the room and mouthed to the photographer to hand him the phone. Ibe did what the teen wanted and gave it to him. The Japanese youth placed the receiver to his ear and said, "Hi mom."_

_"Eiji dear, this has gone on long enough; it's time for you to come back home." the elder woman said to him._

_"_ _Listen Mom, I know you're worried about me, but I can't return home yet."_

_"_ _Dear, it has been months now and your friend still hasn't woken up. Maybe you have to face reality that he probably never will." his mother said in an unfortunate tone._

_"I_ _'m not going to give up on him, Mom and I'm not coming home until I know for sure whether or not he will live."_

_"Eiji…"_

_"_ _Mom, I know I'm probably being selfish considering the worry I caused you, Dad and Keiko, but this is something I have to do. Considering what I've been through, If it wasn't for Ash, I would've died long time ago. He saved my life countless times even though it put him in danger. I owe it to him to be here for him. Ever since he was young, he had to fight alone and down the road he lost good friends who became my good friends too. After everything he's been through, Ash deserves someone by this side. Tell me Mom, if you were in my position and it was Dad in the same condition as Ash, what would you have done?"_

 _There was a long silence as Eiji's mother mulled over her son's words. He was exactly right; if that was his father, she would be with him no matter what naysayers said._ _Eiji was worried over the silence and was about to speak before he heard his mother say, "Eiji, you really care about this boy, don't you?"_

_"Yes Mom, I do; I really do."_

_"If that's the case, then you can stay and be there for him. At the very least, just check in with me to give me some piece of mind."_

_"I will, I promise!" the Japanese male said happily._

_"Another thing Eiji, when you friend recovers, you should bring him home. I would like to meet the boy who made my son be selfish for once."_

_"Mom?! You're making it sound like I'm bringing my lover home to meet my parents!"_

_"Well aren't you, considering how you just went on about him?"_

_E_ _iji could feel his cheeks grow red with embarrassment, "Aw, Mom!"_

_He heard his mother laugh through the receiver before telling her son, "Stay well, my boy and don't cause any trouble for Ibe."_

_"_   _I_ _won't; Arigato, Mom for understanding." the Japanese teen replied before ending the call._

* * *

No matter how many days passed, Eiji continued looking after Ash. Ibe came from time to time to check in on Eiji and to make sure he was taking care of himself. Max, Jessica, Bones, Alex, Sing and even Cain stopped by to visit them as well. It made Eiji happy to see all these people who care about the blond are there for him in his time of need. After those visits, he would even ask the blond if he could feel his friends were there for him.

One night, Eiji heard a knock at the door. "Come in." he said out loud. The door opened and he saw Sing walk in. He smiled as he said, "Oh hey, Sing."

"Hey Eiji; any changes with Ash yet?"

"No not yet."

The Chinese-American was a bundle of nerves as he pulled up a chair next to his friend. He has been putting off telling Eiji the truth about what happened to Ash and it has been eating him up since he discovered the truth. Since the two of them were finally alone, Sing felt it was best to come clean. "Eiji listen, there's something I have to tell you. It's about…"

"It's okay Sing," Eiji interrupted causing the other to give him a perplexed look as he continued, "you don't have to say anything. I know it was Lao who did this to Ash."

The Chinatown leader was shocked as he asked, "How did you find out?"

"The first night Ash stayed in the hospital, I saw the late night news and they talked about how the authorities found a knife in Lao's hand with Ash's blood on it. I take it you found out about it before it was aired on the news?"

"Yeah, I witnessed the coroner take my brother's body away. Jenkins and Charlie told me about what happened. I'm sorry Eiji; I wanted to tell you about it myself. I take full responsibility for this since I couldn't get through to Lao. Since Ash told me not to tell my boys about the truth about Shorter's death, Lao had this deep hated for Ash and hated how I endangered myself tryin' to help him."

The Japanese male shook his head as he told the other, "Sing, you shouldn't feel responsible for what Lao did. It was his choice to hurt Ash, not yours. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't forgiven Lao for doing this regardless of his reasons."

"You have every right to feel that way. I'm upset he's gone but I'm also pissed off at him for doing this. I'm even pissed at myself for not seeing this coming."

Eiji placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and gave him a reassuring look. "I don't blame you for any of this. We can't change what happened, but right now the most important thing is seeing Ash pull through."

 _'Now I'm startin' see why Eiji meant so much to Ash and how Ash was willing to do whatever it took to protect him.'_ "Geez, here I thought I was comforting you, but you ended up comforting me." Sing said to other making him laugh. The young Chinatown leader goes up and said, "Well, there's no sense in waiting on Ash to snap out of it on an empty stomach. I'm gonna go get us some grub; I'll be back soon."

"Okay Sing and thank you." the Japanese male said as the other went out of the room.

When the door closed behind Sing, Eiji stared back at his friend lying there motionless. Even though he made a vow to stay by Ash's side, it pained him to see the young gang leader in this shape. To Eiji, Ash seemed like this pillar of strength that was willing to face anything no matter the danger or risk. Now he was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for his life while machines were keeping him alive. The dark eyed male took the other's hand in his. Even though it was lifeless, it still felt so warm. "Even though you haven't woken up, you're still in there fighting to come back, aren't you." Eiji said to his friend even though the other wasn't going to say anything back.

"You've always been a fighter haven't you? No matter how many times others tried to beat you down, you just got right back up again. You never submitted to anyone without a fight. I really admired you for that; it seemed like nothing could keep you down." "I still remember the first day we met. When I first heard about the famous Ash Lynx, I thought you were some macho gangster. Then when I actually met you, you looked and seemed like just a normal 17 year old, but I felt something about you that made you seem different from regular 17 year olds." Eiji gave a small laugh as he said, "You remember when I asked you if your gun was real? I still remember the looks you and everyone else in the bar made when I asked you if I could hold it and you said yes. You probably thought I was weird but considering that Japan doesn't allow anyone but police to have guns, my curiosity got the best of me. Due to that, I became really close with Skip."

"Then Skip and I were kidnapped by Arthur's buddies, but you still came after us, knowing it may have been a trap. Then when Arthur ordered one of his goons to kill me, you threw away your gun which surprised me. I had only met you that day so we hardly knew each other. You even kept saying that I saved you by pole vaulting over that wall, so I could go get help. I always thought I didn't do much, but it made me happy knowing that I was of use to you."

Eiji softly gripped the other's hand as he continued, "We've been through a lot since the first day we met. There were good times, fun times, and sad times. There were times where we were separated from each other but we always found a way back to each other didn't we? I still think about the last time we saw each other except I was the one in the hospital bed after getting shot trying to protect you. Even though I wasn't conscious, I could feel you were in the room with me. I could hear you crying tears of guilt and anguish; it made my heart break. I wanted so badly to comfort you and let you know everything was going to be alright. Your tears are what gave me the strength to get out of that bed despite the pain I was in. I'll admit I was glad to see you were alright after that incident and you came to see about me. I really wanted you to stay, but I knew if you did, you would've gotten arrested so I had to tell you to leave. It hurt me to see you cry and leave, but I knew it was for the best. You couldn't afford to get caught; you had unfinished business to take care of. You managed to bring down your enemies and you were finally able to have some piece of mind and live out your life the way you wanted for a change."

At that moment, Eiji could feel hot tears cloud his vision before falling down his cheeks. "Now look what's happened to you and it's my fault. If it wasn't for my letter, you would've been able to sense Lao coming. I did this to you; I'm so sorry. Please God, if you're listening; I know I'm asking a lot, but please bring him back. I don't even care if I'm able to take him to Japan; I just want him back. I don't want to lose him this way, because….because…because, I love him. I love him so much; with all my heart." The black haired male leaned in close to the other's soft, pale looking lips before capturing them in a sweet, loving kiss. After a few seconds, Eiji pulled away before a stray tear dripped down on the other's pale cheek. He placed the back of the blond's hand against his forehead as he whispered in a saddened tone, "Please come back to me, Aslan."

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Chapter Four

**A Second Chance at Life**

**Chapter 4**

While Ash was lying down, he could feel a cool, gentle breeze hit his face. His green eyes slowly opened to the bright blue sky hovering overcast. "What's going on; where am I?" He rose up from the ground to observe his surroundings. The blond saw wide open green fields as far as the eye can see before his eyes laid on two familiar homes. One was the one his father and Jennifer stayed in and the other where he and Griffin lived in growing up. "I'm in Cape Cod; how did I get here? The last thing I remember was being in the library, reading Eiji's letter."

Just then he heard a familiar voice call out his name, "Aslan…"

"That voice…it couldn't be!" At that moment, he started running down the hill towards his childhood home at lightning speed. As he got closer to the house, the voice was getting louder. Once he got to the front door, Ash turned the doorknob and opened the door before walking in. When he saw who was standing in the middle of the floor, his green eyes widened in shock. Standing there was his older brother standing on his own two legs smiling at him. Ash slowly stepped closer to the other as he anxiously called out to him, "G-Griff, is that you?"

"Yes it is; it's good to see you again, little brother."

The blond ran up to his elder brother and embraced him. Griffin returned the gesture and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "It's hard to believe how much you've grown; it seemed like only yesterday you were that little boy who cried his eyes out when I left for the army." the dusty blond said with a smile.

"Aneki!" Ash whined as he blushed in embarrassment making the elder sibling laugh.

Then the dusty blond saw a serious look arose on Ash's face. "What's wrong, Aslan?"

"Griff, I'm really sorry for not being there for you in your final moments; I failed you."

Griffin shook his head as he said, "There's no reason for you to be sorry. What happened to me wasn't your fault. If anything, I'm proud of you."

"Proud?" the green eyed teen said, shocked to hear the other say that to him. "How can you be proud of me, Griff? When you left, my life became a living hell. You have no idea what I had to go through in order to survive. I had to learn how to use a gun, I've killed countless people, and was made a sex slave for old, sick bastards. I had to make decisions that made me sick to my stomach to protect myself or to save those I cared about. You shouldn't be proud of a monster like me."

Griffin placed his hand on his little brother's head as he gave him a reassuring smile. "Aslan, you need to stop berating yourself over what you've done and calling yourself a monster. You may have done some bad things, but unlike criminals who do things like that for sick pleasure or selfish ambitions, you did what you had to for yours and for the sake of others. I do share some responsibility for all the things that happened to you; you might have not had to go through that if I had just been there for you."

"Aneki…"

"At least I was able to rest peacefully knowing you found friends who were there for you when I couldn't be. Thank you so much for taking care of me when I was unable to do it myself. Always remember this Aslan, regardless of the sins you committed, you're still my beloved little brother and nothing will change that. Even though I'm not right there beside you, I'll always be with you."

Hot tears streamed down the blond's cheeks as he gave his brother one final embrace and said, "Thank you, Griff and I love you."

"You're welcome and I love you too. Promise me one thing, be happy, little brother."

* * *

At that moment, a bright light blocked Ash's vision. Once the light dimmed, the blond's vision came back into focus. When Ash observed his surroundings, he discovered he was in a familiar Chinese restaurant except he was the only one there. "This has got to be the strangest dream; one minute I'm Cape Cod and now I'm at Chang Dai's. Just what is going on here?"

Then he jumped at the sound of plate hitting the table in front of him. Green eyes saw it was a plate of fried rice and dumplings then he heard a strong Chinese sounding voice say, "Order up!"

Ash turned to see a Chinese man with a red and black dome shaped cap on his head with black hair cascading down. The man wore a red and black outfit with long sleeves and black whiskers and goatee on his face. He furrowed his eyebrow at the strange man as he said, "No thanks; I'm not hungry."

The man laughed as he said in a voice that was familiar to the blond, "I think you losing your touch there, Ash."

Green eyes widened as he saw the other take off hat, wig and outfit to reveal his old friend. "Shorter?!"

"What up, dude?!" the Mohawk teen said with a grin. "You look like you would use somethin to eat; you're skin and bones, dog."

"Depends, did you cook this?"

"Of course, who else could've cooked it?"

"In that case, no thanks then." the green eyed teen abruptly said shaking his head.

"Fine then; you don't know what you're missing."

"Oh believe me, I do."

"Ha, I just love your sense of humor." Shorter said sarcastically making the other laugh. "Seriously though congrats on finally sticking it to that bastard Dino and his cronies; I know that felt good. I sure hate that I wasn't there to help out and share in the glory."

A remorse look arose on Ash's face and he started to say to his friend, "Listen Shorter, I'm so…"

"Hey hey, don't get all apologetic on me, Ash. Besides isn't that Eiji's thing?"

The blond smirked as he replied, "Looks like he's rubbed off on me."

"Anyway, you have nothin to be sorry for, dude. I'm the one who asked you to shoot me to free me from the horrors of that drug. I know it wasn't an easy thing for you to do, but it had to be done. Doing that saved me from suffering from that drug like your brother and it saved Eiji's life. I shudder to think what that drug and those goons would've made me do to Eiji if you didn't shoot me."

"Shorter…"

"I'm the one who's sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For letting that bastard Yut-Lung talk me into kidnapping Eiji in the first place; the guilt of putting him, you, Max and Ibe in danger like that was eating me alive. To be honest, that guilt hurt a whole lot worse than what that drug was putting my mind through."

"It's cool man; we didn't blame you for any of that. You're still our friend and if anything, I'm grateful to you for having my back since day one and keeping Eiji safe even when those bastard Lees had you doing their dirty work."

"About Eiji, he doesn't hate me does he?" the ex Chinese gang leader asked in a sullen tone.

"Don't be crazy; he knows all that wasn't your fault. Besides you're still a friend to him as you are to me."

"You know, I'm not a crier but if I was, I would be bawlin like a baby right now." Shorter said he was blinking like crazy to keep his tears from falling. "Anyway, now's not the time to be dwelling on the past. You should be focusing more on the future besides, there's someone who's waiting on you to come back."

Ash gave the other an incredulous look as he asked, "Who would that be?"

The Mohawk teen grinned as he replied, "Oh you'll find out soon. Well, I guess this is so long; take care of yourself, bro."

The green eyed teen nodded as he answered, "Sure thing, dude, and despite how things ended we're still cool."

"Thanks man; I wish you all the best." the ex Chinese gang leader said before they shared their final signature handshake.

* * *

After the two teens said their goodbyes, a bright light shined again and once it died down, Ash was standing in the apartment he had bought using the money he stole from Dino. He walked through the darkened hall and saw a light shining from the bedroom. When he arrived at the door, he slowly pulled it open and walked into the room. Once he was in it, his green eyes widened to see Eiji standing in the middle of the room with his back turned to him. The blond walked in and called out his friend's name, "Eiji?"

The said teen turned around and gave the other his signature bright smile. Ash ran up to him and said, "Eiji, I'm glad to see you're doing alright, but why are you still in New York. I thought you and Ibe went back to Japan…oh that's right, this is still a dream."

Instead of answering the green eyed male, Eiji simply smiled and took his hand in his. A slight blush came across Ash's face as he gave the other a questioned look, "Um Eiji, not that I don't like this, but what are you doing?"

" _Even though you haven't woken up, you're still in there fighting to come back, aren't you."_  the dark haired male said instead of answering Ash's question. The blond simply gave the other a blank look as he continued talking.  _"You've always been a fighter haven't you? No matter how many times others tried to beat you down, you just got right back up again. You never submitted to anyone without a fight. I really admired you for that; it seemed like nothing could keep you down."_

"Of course I had to be like that; I would've been dead long time ago if I wasn't."

" _I still remember the first day we met. When I first heard about the famous Ash Lynx, I thought you were some scary, macho gangster."_

Ash chuckled as he asked, "You seriously thought that way about me?"

" _Then when I actually met you, you looked and seemed like just a normal 17 year old, but I felt something about you that made you seem different from regular 17 year olds."_  The blond heard Eiji gave a small laugh as he said,  _"You remember when I asked you if your gun was real? I still remember the looks you and everyone else in the bar made when I asked you if I could hold it and you said yes."_

"Yeah, to be honest I thought you were kinda weird." Ash said between short laughs.

" _You probably thought I was weird, but considering that Japan doesn't allow anyone but police to have guns, my curiosity got the best of me. Due to that, I became really close with Skip. Skip and I were kidnapped by Arthur's buddies but you came after us, knowing it may have been a trap. Then when Arthur ordered one of his goons to kill me, you threw away your gun which surprised me. I had only met you that day so we hardly knew each other. You even kept saying that I saved you by pole vaulting over that wall, so I could go get help. I always thought I didn't do much, but it made me happy knowing that I was of use to you."_

"Of course you were a big help; I'm still in awe of the way you were able to get over that wall."

Ash felt Eiji grip his hand a little tighter as Eiji continued talking,  _"We've been through a lot since the first day we met. There were good times, fun times, and sad times. There were times where we were separated from each other but we always found a way back to each other didn't we?"_

"We sure did; those times were real close, but managed to reunite every time."

" _I still think about the last time we saw each other except I was the one in the hospital bed after getting shot trying to protect you. Even though I wasn't conscious, I could feel you were in the room with me. I could hear you crying tears of guilt and anguish; it made my heart break. I wanted so badly to comfort you and let you know everything was going to be alright. Your tears are what gave me the strength to get out of that bed despite the pain I was in. I'll admit I was glad to see you were alright after that incident and you came to see about me. I really wanted you to stay, but I knew if you did, you would've gotten arrested so I had to tell you to leave. It hurt me to see you cry and leave, but I knew it was for the best. You couldn't afford to get caught; you had unfinished business to take care of."_

"So that's why he told me to leave; you always did put me first."

" _You managed to bring down your enemies and you were finally able to have some piece of mind and live out your life the way you want."_

At that moment, Ash saw beads of tears roll down his friend's cheeks. "Eiji, what's wrong; why are you crying?" It really hurt him to see the other cry; it reminded him of when they last saw each other. He didn't want to leave either, but like his friend said he had to. Seeing Eiji like this made his heart hurt more than it did, seeing him in that hospital bed.

" _Now look what happened to you and it's my fault. If it wasn't for my letter, you would've been able to sense Lao coming. I did this to you; I'm so sorry."_

"No, Eiji that wasn't your fault. You shouldn't feel responsible for that."

" _Please God, if you're listening; I know I'm asking a lot, but please bring him back. I don't even care if I'm able to take him to Japan; I just want him back. I don't want to lose him this way, because….because…because, I love him. I love him so much; with all my heart."_

Ash couldn't believe what his friend just said to him. He was about to ask Eiji if he meant what he said before he felt a pair of soft lips press against his. This wasn't like the kiss they shared when he was prison; this one was so sweet and innocent and he loved it. After a few seconds which seemed like forever, the Japanese male pulled away from him and placed the back of his hand against his forehead. Ash heard the other whispered in a saddened, pleading tone,  _"Please come back to me, Aslan."_ Those words were the last words Ash heard before another bright light blocked his vision.

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Chapter Five

**A Second Chance at Life**

**Chapter 5**

Ash's eyelids slowly opened revealing his shimmering green eyes. His eyes met bright lights while he blinked trying to get his sight into focus. _'Where am I now; am I still dreaming?'_  His eyes peered all around the room and realized that he was in a hospital room. _'I'm in a hospital; so I guess I escaped death yet again.'_

At that moment, the blond teen sensed someone was in the room with him. The person was softly crying in his ear; it sounded so sad. _'Who's crying; it sounds so familiar.'_  Green eyes peered over to his left and there he saw Eiji with his head down on the side the bed crying while holding his slowly sat up in the bed and took his other hand and placed it on top of his friend's soft hair. "Don't cry, Onii-chan; I'm okay."

Eiji gasped as he ceased with his crying as the tears stopped flowing from his eyes. He slowly lifted his head from the bed and saw his friend gazing at him with a smile. Trying not to get too excited, he asked the other, "Ash…I'm not dreaming right, you're really awake and okay?"

"Yeah; it's not a dream and despite how I'm just as surprised as you are, I'm okay."Ash noticed tears stream down the black haired male's cheek, "Hey easy with the water works, Eiji; seriously, I'm okay."

Eiji immediately embraced his friend smiling despite the tears flowing from his eyes, "Oh Ash; thank goodness! I'm so glad you're alright, so glad!"

"Eiji, I understand you're happy and all, but can you let up a bit; I'm still in pain here." the blond winced feeling a slight pain from his wound.

"Oh I'm sorry!" The Japanese male said as he quickly let go of his friend, "I'm just so happy that you're okay; I started to worry that you weren't going to wake up."

"To be honest, I thought I wasn't going to make it this time either. I guess Sing was right, I'm just a lucky mofo."

"Mofo?" the black eyed male asked wondering what that meant.

"Never mind."

Just then the two males jumped at the sound of the door opening and they saw Sing walk in with a bag of food. "Sorry it took so long, Eiji; I hope you're not starv…!" The young Chinese gang leader stopped in mid sentence as he dropped the bag in shock seeing the blond sitting up in the bed. "…Ash?!"

"Hey there Sing; how's it going?" Ash asked in a nonchalant tone with a small smile on his face.

The Chinese male softly smacked his cheek as though he was trying to wake up, "Wake up, wake up, wake up…!"

"Sing it's not a dream; Ash is really awake and he's going to be okay." Eiji reassured his friend with a smile.

"Well I'll be damned, I guess miracles do happen. Took you long enough to wake up." the young Chinatown leader said with a smirk.

"Nice to see you too." Ash said in a sarcastic tone of voice as Eiji laughed.

Sing picked up the bag he dropped and handed it to Eiji. "Well, I better let the doctors know that you've woken up and I'll go on ahead and let everyone else know too."

"Thank you very much Sing." the Japanese male replied with a smile while the other winked at him giving him a thumbs up before walking out the room.

Once the Chinese American let the doctor know about Ash, they went into the blond's room to check up on him. While they did that, Sing pulled out his phone and sent a group text to everyone letting them know the blond had woken up.

* * *

Max, Jessica and Ibe were together in Ibe's hotel room talking until they were interrupted by Max's phone ringing. Max pulled out his phone and saw he received a text message. "What is it, Max?" Ibe asked the reporter.

"I just got a text from Sing." Max answered while he opened it. When he read over the text, he jumped out of his seat making Ibe and Jessica stare at him in surprise.

"What's up with you, Max?" Jessica asked her betrothed.

Before answering Jessica, Max read over the text again to make sure he was reading it right. When he realized what the text said was indeed what he read, his eyes started to water as a tear fell down his cheek. "Seriously Max, what's the matter; you're starting to scare us." the blond woman asked noticing Max looked like he was about to cry.

"Yes; did something happen to Ash?" Ibe asked in a worried tone.

"Sing texted saying that Ash woke up and he's going to be okay."

Ibe and Jessica rose from their seats in shock but it only lasted a moment. Jessica hugged Max out of joy as tears streamed her face. "Thank God; I knew that little brat was a fighter."

The Japanese photographer wiped a stray tear from his eye using his index finger. "I'm so glad to hear that; I can only imagine how happy Ei-chan is."

"Well, let's get on down to the hospital to see him." Max said before they all got their coats and headed out of the hotel room to the elevator.

Alex, Bones and Kong had just received burgers and were walking through town. Alex heard his phone ring and pulled it out of his back pocket. He saw he received a text from Sing and when he read it, he stopped in his tracks. Bones and Kong noticed their friend stopped walking and they stopped as well. "What's up, Alex?" Bones asked.

"I just got a text from Sing about Boss."

"The boss?!" Kong cried in shock

"What about him; did somethin happen?" Bones asked.

"Yeah, Sing says the boss woke up and he's gonna be okay." Alex replied as his friends smiled and high fived each other.

"I knew the boss would pull through!" Bones said with a smile.

"Yeah, our boss is tougher than they come." Kong added.

"C'mon guys, let's get goin to the hospital." Alex said and he, Bones and Kong went to go hail a taxi to get them to the hospital.

* * *

After the medical staff finished checking Ash out and left the room, Sing went back in and joined Ash and Eiji. "Hey guys; I let everyone know what's going on. So Ash, what did the doctor say?"

"The doctor said I'm okay, but I may need to stay here for a few more days to make sure I'm fully healed." the green eyed male replied with the sound of dismay in his voice.

Eiji giggled at the other as he told him, "Now Ash, three more days in the hospital isn't going to hurt you."

Ash rolled his eyes and groaned, "But I'm so tired of lying around in this hospital bed. Not to mention having those nurses giving me flirty looks every chance they get. I feel like a piece of meat in the middle of a pack of starving wolves."

Sing pursed his lips and he narrowed his eyes at the blond, "Ah, the woes of a handsome guy."

"Now Ash, you have to understand this incident wasn't like with Arthur. Due to the amount of blood you loss, your chances of survival were really slim this time. The doctor knows what's best for you so you need to stay here and heal up like he says." Eiji said.

The blond sighed as he said, "Fine, but I won't like it."

The Japanese male smiled brightly as he patted the other's head. "Good boy; Onii-chan approves." Eiji said as Ash rolled his eyes and grunted with a slight blush arose across his face.

"Look at the great Ash Lynx; you're so whipped." Sing said sneering at the blond.

"Oh shut up." Ash grunted while Eiji gave the young Chinatown leader a puzzled look, wondering what he meant.

"Well, I better get going." Sing said.

"You're leaving already; where are you going?" Eiji asked his friend.

"I just have some business to take care of; nothing major. Besides you two should enjoy this down time before everyone gets here." The two males gave the other puzzled looks as Sing turned to them and said with a grin, "You two look good together."

"No one asked you!" Ash said with a slight blush making the other chuckle before he left out of the room.

Eiji stared blankly at the closed door before turning to Ash, "I wonder what Sing was talking about."

The green eyed male sighed heavily, _'Look's like Eiji's naivety hasn't changed.'_  Then Ash noticed Eiji staring at him with a gentle smile on his face. "What's up, Eiji?"

"I'm just really glad you're going to be alright. I was really worried about you."

"I was a little worried myself. While I was at the library, it felt like the life was draining out of me. I was really lucky this time. While I was out though, I had this very weird dream, but it felt so real though."

"What happened in your dream?" the black haired male asked in curiosity.

"Well, I met my brother and Shorter."

"Really?"

"Yeah; I was able to apologize to them, but they said what happened to them wasn't his fault and that he should be happy. I was even able to properly say my goodbyes to them. That dream was so vivid; it seemed so real. I wouldn't be surprised if you thought I was crazy."

Eiji shook his head as he said, "Then call me crazy because I do believe you. Did anything else happen in your dream?"

"Actually yeah; after I met with Shorter, you appeared in my dream, Eiji."

"I did?"

Ash nodded, "However unlike with Griff and Shorter, I spoke to you, but it was like you couldn't hear me. It was like you were talking, hoping I was listening to you."

* * *

Unknown to the two males, Ibe, Jessica and Max were overheard them talking. Ibe and Max were about to walk in, but Jessica could sense that now wasn't the time for them to go in. She placed her hands on each of their shoulders and said, "Wait a minute you two."

"What is it, Jessica?" Ibe asked as he and Max gave the blond woman puzzled looks.

"Ash and Eiji seem a little busy right now; let's give them this moment alone."

At that moment Alex, Bones and Kong walked into the hospital and saw the three adults crowding outside the boss' room. "What are they doing outside the boss' room like that?" Kong asked.

"I dunno; let's find out." Alex said as he and his two friends went up to them.

The three guys went up to the adults before Bones asked them, "Whatcha guys doin?" The adults shushed them in return and before they could even get a word out, they noticed Ash and Eiji were inside in deep conversation so they decided to listen in with the adults.

* * *

"What did I say to you in your dream?" Eiji asked the other.

"In my dream, you talking about how I was fighter and you reminisced about the day we met and all the times we had together, the good and the bad. Then you started crying and said that you hoped I would come back because you loved me and then you kissed me; crazy right?" Ash said while the observers outside the room gasped in shock but continued listening in.

The blond noticed Eiji looking really red and embarrassed; it was like he could see smoke coming out of the other's ears. He furrowed his eyebrow at his friend and asked, "What's up with you, Eiji; are you sick or something?"

The Japanese male scratched the back of his head as he sheepishly said, "Well actually, all things you heard me say in your dream was exactly what I said."

"Even the kiss?" Ash asked in shock while the other nodded shyly, "So did you mean it when you said you loved me?"

"Yes I did." the black haired male replied nervously.

Outside the door, Jessica grinned as she mouthed, "I knew it!"

Max whistled lowly while Ibe uttered softly, "Ei-chan…"

"I thought Eiji and the boss were already dating." Alex whispered as Bones and Kong nodded in agreement thinking the same thing.

Jessica signed heavily as she said silently, "Humph, men…"

Inside the hospital room, Eiji's face was beet red as he peered at his lap as though it was the most interesting thing in the room. The Japanese male was so nervous he couldn't even look Ash in the eyes. The said blond gave a small sigh as he said to his friend, "There's no need to feel embarrassed, Eiji, but I gotta know how long have you felt his way about me?"

"Well, to be honest I'm not sure how it started. I've always seen you as such a great friend. Ever since the day we met, you've always been there for me, you saved me countless times even though it was endangering you. When I heard about what happened to you, it made my heart stop and I had to be by your side. I wouldn't leave your side for a moment until I knew for a fact that you were going to be alright. Along the way, I started to develop deeper feelings for you beyond friendship, but I kept it to myself. You had enough to deal with and I didn't want to trouble you with it." Eiji confessed as he continued looking down at his lap twiddling his thumbs.

"Eiji, look at me."

As the Japanese male slowly raised his head, a soft pair of lips captured his in a soft, warm kiss. Eiji's dark eyes widened in shock for a brief second before his eyelids closed, accepting the other's loving gesture. This kiss was different from the one he received from Ash when they were at the prison. This one was a lot more comforting and it made him feel so warm and happy. Outside the room, Max, Ibe, Alex, Bones and Kong gaped in shock. Jessica grinned as she whispered, "It's about time."

In the room, the two males pulled away from each other and Eiji said shyly, "Since you kissed me, does that mean you feel the same way too?"

Ash gave the other a loving smile as he replied, "Who said I didn't?"

At that moment they heard a group of people say, "Awww…" The two males looked towards the door to see Jessica, Max, Ibe and Alex giving them touched gazes. Bones and Kong were weeping with joy while they said in unison, "That was so beautiful!"

Eiji stared at them in embarrassment as Ash simply asked them, "How long were you guys going to stay out there anyway?"

The Japanese male gaped at the other as Max answered, "Well you guys were having such a romantic moment, we didn't want to intrude."

"So peeking in on us like it was some kind of soap opera was okay?" the green eyed male asked dryly.

"If it helps, it was a lot more interesting." Jessica replied as Ibe cleared this throat.

"Wait a minute, how long have you guys been out there?" Eiji stammered nervously.

"They've been out there the entire time we were talking, Eiji." Ash answered the other.

Max gave a sheepish smile as he said, "Oh yeah, I forgot about the kid's sixth sense."

"Ash, why didn't you tell me they were outside?!"

"Well, you were so busy with your heartfelt confession, I didn't want to interrupt you; that would've been rude." Then the blond noticed Eiji puffing his cheeks at him, pouting. Ash simply smiled as he said, "Do you know you're even cuter when you pout?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, mister!"

The blond gave the other his famous sad puppy dog eyes as he said, "Aww Onii-chan, don't be mad."

"And don't give me that look because it's not gonna work either!" Eiji huffed making the blond laugh.

As the two lovers were going back and forth, their friends just stared blankly at them. "Gee, I've never seen the Boss like that before." Bones said in amazement as Alex and Kong nodded in agreement.

"I've learned a long time ago that only Ei-chan brings out that side of Ash." Ibe said.

"You got that right." Max added.

"It just goes to show you, those two are clearly a match made in heaven." Jessica said grinning at the sight before them.

**To Be Continued…**


	6. Chapter Six

**A Second Chance at Life**

**Chapter 6**

When Sing arrived at Yut Lung's place, he knocked on the door and a servant answered it and let him in. Once they were in, the servant led Sing to Yut-Lung's room and when they got to the door, the servant knocked on it. A voice from behind the door asked, "Yes?"

"Young Master, Sing is here to see you." the servant replied to his young boss.

"Okay, he can come in."

The servant bowed to the young gang leader before walking away to handle his duties. Sing opened the door and entered to the room. Yut-Lung looked up and saw Sing, "Hey there Sing; why do you look so excited?"

"I guess I couldn't keep it hidden; apparently, I learned that miracles do happen."

The long haired male was about to ask the other what he meant but then a thought struck him. His eyes widened as he asked Sing, "You mean…?"

The said male nodded his head and answered, "That's right; Ash woke up and he's gonna be okay."

Yut-Lung gave a small gasp as he placed his hand against his opened mouth. "I don't believe it."

"I said the same thing; I swear that guy's one lucky mofo."

"Indeed." the young Lee added in agreement before asking, "Does Eiji know about this as well?"

"Yeah; he was with Ash when he woke up."

"I see…say Sing, I need your opinion on something."

"Okay, waz up?"

"You think it would be alright if I visit Ash?"

"Oh I dunno if that's a good idea given your history with Ash and the others. Think about it, Ash may try to attack you or somethin' and given how I fared against him at Dino's mansion, I don't think I'll be able to hold him back."

Yut-Lung hung his head in defeat as said, "You do have a point and I know it's a crazy suggestion, but I felt that it would be best if I apologize to him for all I've done."

"I gotta admit, you seriously got some guts, but now may not be the best time. How about when Ash gets out of the hospital, I'll bring him and Eiji here and you can apologize to them then.

"You'd really do that?"

"I can try, but it's not going to be all sunshine and roses. I dunno about Eiji, but Ash may snipe, curse and or shun you for what you put them through."

"I realize that and I deserve it, but it has to be done."

Sing saw the firm resolve in the other's dark eyes and said to him, "Alright if that's what you want, then I'll try to bring them here once Ash recovers. If things do get dicey, then I'll be there for you."

The young Chinatown leader noticed the other staring at him in shock. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked feeling a little uncomfortable by the young Lee's stare.

"Forgive me, I'm just not used to anyone being nice to me and trying to help me without wanting something in return."

"Considering what you've been through most of your life, I shouldn't be surprised you would feel that way. There are people out there willing to help others because they want to and that's why I'm doing this."

"Well regardless, I do appreciate all that you've done for me."

The Chinese American gave the other a skeptic look as he said, "You know, that's one thing I'm still tryin to get used to."

"What's that?"

"You actually being nice."

The young Lee huffed has he flipped his long hair, "You know I can be nice when I want to be; I just choose whose deserving of it."

"Now that's the spoiled young master I know." Sing grinned as he said jokingly. Yut Lung gave the other a small scowl for a brief second before they both broke out in laughter.

* * *

Three days later, Ash was finally released from the hospital. After filling out some paperwork and talking with the doctors, he met up with Eiji who was waiting for him in the waiting area. He walked up to Eiji and the Japanese male said to him, "You ready to go, Ash?"

"I've been ready since the day I woke up; let's get out of here." the blond male replied as he and his friend exited the hospital. Once they were outside, Ash stretched out his arms to the sky as he said in relief, "Free at last; that song was right."

Eiji laughed at the other as he said, "Ash, don't you think you're overreacting?"

"No," the green eyed male answered bluntly, "You don't know how glad I am to be out of that hospital and away from those "demons" in dresses."

"You mean the nurses?"

"If you wanna call them that." Ash replied pursing his lips.

"Oh Ash, those nurses were just in awe of your handsomeness."

"Too in awe if you ask me. Those women were like ravenous wolves trying to take a bite out of me."

Eiji grinned as he said, "I bet now they're crying their eyes out now that their eye candy has been released."

"That explains all the blubbering I heard while we were walking out the door." Ash added making them both laugh.

"So now that you're out of the hospital, we should celebrate; what do you wanna do?" the Japanese male asked.

"I hope it's getting some lunch; I'm starving."

"Okay how about we go get some hot dogs for old time's sake."

Ash grinned at the thought as he replied, "A loaded 'natto' hot dog is calling my name."

"That sounds good to me except without that spicy mustard you like so much." Eiji replied making the other grin in amusement.

* * *

Once they arrived at the food truck outside the Central Library, they ordered their hot dogs. Once they received them, they sat on the library steps and ate their lunch while engaging in pleasant conversation. After lunch, they made some courtesy calls to Ash's gang members, to Charlie and Inspector Jenkins at the police station and they even went to go see Cain and his gang as well. After visiting them, they went to go see Nadia at Chang Dai's. When the elder woman saw the blond walk into the restaurant, she immediately ran up to him and embraced him and Eiji. She was so happy and relieved to see both males were doing alright. They stayed at the restaurant for over an hour talking with Shorter's sister. The conversation did get heavy after they explained what happened with Shorter and afterwards, but Nadia understood and was glad they told her about it. Once they finished visiting Nadia, they left the Chinese restaurant and took a walk though Chinatown. While they were walking, Eiji told the other, "I'm glad we were able to talk with Nadia; I bet she was just as happy to see you were doing alright."

"To be honest, I was a little worried to speak with her, but I'm glad I did. She deserved to know what happened with her brother."

"I could tell it was hard for her to hear, but it was better for her to know than to live on without knowing the truth."

"It made a difference that you were there with me, Eiji; I was scared that she would hate me."

The black haired male turned to his friend and said, "Ms. Nadia would never hate you; I can tell you mean a lot to her as Shorter does. You were her precious brother's best friend. I bet she even sees you as a part of her family as well. It's good we went to go see her to finally give her some closure."

Ash gave the other a thankful smile as he asked, "How is it that you are able to make something better just with a few words."

"Call it a gift I guess." the Japanese male replied.

As Ash and Eiji continued walking through Chinatown, they happened to see Sing walking towards them. The young Chinatown leader noticed them as well and ran up to them to greet them. "Well looks who's up and walking; glad to see you're back on feet, Ash."

"Not as glad as I am to be outta there."

Sing sneered at the other as he said, "I bet those nurses are balling like babies now that you are gone."

"I said the same thing." Eiji added.

"Don't remind me of those animals, please." the blond said rolling his eyes in annoyance making the Chinese American laugh.

"So Sing, what are you up to?" the Japanese male asked.

"Actually I was out on patrol and I got wind you two were in Chinatown. I'm actually glad I ran into you guys."

Ash and Eiji gave the other puzzled looks while Ash asked him, "Why was that?"

"I wanted you two to come with me to see someone."

"See who?" Eiji asked in curiosity.

"And why do I get the feeling whoever this is, is someone I don't like?" Ash added.

Sing shrugged his shoulder as he replied, "I can never get anything past you, Ash. I actually wanted to take you guys to see Yut-Lung."

Eiji's dark eyes widened at that as Ash immediately said, "No."

"Ash, could you at least think about it?" Sing asked him.

"Oh I'm sorry, that was unfair of me. What I meant to say was HELL NO! Why the hell should we go see that prick anyway?!"

Even though he expected this reaction, Sing cringed at what the other said, but he wasn't going to back down. "Look I know the last person you wanna see is Yut- Lung, but he wants to talk to you and Eiji."

The green eyed male sucked his teeth as he replied, "Forget it; after everything that snake put us all through, I'll be damned if I have to deal with him again. I'm surprised you of all people would even ask me that."

"I know and I bet the 'me' about a year ago would be saying the same thing, but now he's working with me to rebuild Chinatown."

"That's all well and good, Sing but if I'm anywhere near that brat, I'm liable to end up in prison for killing him so I'll pass."

"Well I can't say I didn't try." the young Chinatown leader said looking defeated.

"Sorry for wasting your time, Sing."Ash turned to Eiji as he said, "Let's go Eiji."

The brown eyed male was about to follow after the other, but he noticed the look in Sing's eyes. To be honest, he didn't want to see young Lee again either, but this must've been important if the Chinese American was even suggesting this. He gave a small sigh as he called out to the blond, "Ash, wait a minute."

The said male turned around and gave the other a questioning look, "What?"

"Maybe we should go see Yut-Lung and at least hear what he has to say."

Both Ash and Sing started at the tanned male in shock as Ash asked him, "Why should we; I've seen enough of that prick to last me a lifetime."

"Look Ash, I feel the same way you do, but I've always wondered why Yut-Lung did all those things to us and why he seemed so sad and hostile towards us."

"Who cares why he did those things? That fact of the matter is, he was willing to endanger us out of spite!"

"I get that, but if Sing trusts him, then we should at least give him a chance to explain himself."

After letting Eiji's words sink in, Ash gave a heavy sigh, "Fine, I guess I have no choice." Then he turned to Sing and said, "Alright Sing, takes us to go see the little rich boy already."

"You mean you're willing to do this, Ash?" Sing asked the other.

"Don't confuse it; the only reason why I'm even going is because Eiji asked. I couldn't care less what that prick has to say and he better not pull another one of his dirty tricks because I'm not in the mood."

"He's not; he just wanna talk that's it." the young Chinatown leader confirmed with them.

"Alright, but just so you know if he does or say anything to piss me off, I won't be responsible for what happens."

"Fair enough; let's get goin'." Sing said as he lead Ash and Eiji to Yut Lung's place.

**To Be Continued…**


	7. Chapter Seven

**A Second Chance at Life**

**Chapter 7**

Once Sing, Ash and Eiji arrived at Yut-Lung's home, the Chinese American knocked on the door. The door opened revealing one of the young Lee's servants who instantly recognized Ash and was shocked to see he was alive. The servant was reluctant to let the blond in, but Sing gave him an eye signal letting him know it was okay and his boss was okay with this. The servant stepped to the side to let the three males in and closed the door behind them. Then they headed down the lavish hallway towards the young Lee's quarters. Ash scoffed at their ritzy surroundings, "And I thought that bastard Dino's place was posh."

"Yeah, it takes a while to get used to it." Sing added in agreement. "You know how these rich guys are when it comes to home décor."

"Unfortunately I do; all too well." Ash's green eyes peered over Eiji who seemed to be looking rather timid and uncomfortable. "You okay, Eiji?" he asked the other in concern.

"Hmm, oh well not really. I don't really have very fond memories of this place considering what happened the last time I was here."

"Now it's not too late; we can still leave if you're not up to this."

The dark brown eyed male shook his head, "No; I said I was going to go through with this and that's what I'm going to do."

"Oh, since when did you get so brave?" the blond asked him with a sly grin.

"Maybe I just had a good role model." Eiji replied with a smile.

"Is that right?" Ash said knowing full well who the other was referring to.

Then Ash and Eiji noticed Sing stop in front of a door which made them stop in their place. Sing turned to them and said, "Okay, Yut-Lung is in this room. Now, I realize the history between you guys isn't a good one, but try to be civil okay Ash."

"Like I said before we came here, as long as he doesn't do or say anything that will piss me off or give me motive to kill, we won't have any problems."

The young Chinatown leader shook his head and sighed in defeat, "I guess that's the best I can hope for." Then he knocked on the door three times and a voice behind call out, "Yes?"

"Yut-Lung, its Sing and I have Ash and Eiji with me."

"Come on in; the door is open."

Sing opened the door letting himself and the two other guests in the room. They all saw the young Lee sitting on a cream colored sofa sitting in the middle of the room, enjoying a cup of tea. Eiji swallowed the lump in his throat as Ash narrowed his eyes at the other. Yut-Lung turned to Sing and said, "Thank you for bring them here, Sing."

"Yeah sure."

The long haired male turned his attention to Ash and Eiji. "Ash and Eiji, it's a pleasure to see you." he said in a hospitable tone of voice.

"Hello." Eiji replied nervously while the blond huffed in response.

"Well Ash, it's good to see your back on feet. I had a feeling it would take more than a stab wound to keep you down."

"Yeah I'll bet; alright Yut-Lung, let's skip the small talk and tell us what you want." Ash said in an abrupt tone of voice.

"Well since you are so eager, this may take a while so please have a seat."

Since it was offered, Eiji went on ahead and took a seat on the first chair he saw. Ash however remained standing and stood next to the chair Eiji was sitting in as he said, "Thanks, but I rather stand where I can see you; wouldn't want you trying to pull another sneak attack."

Yut-Lung gave a small sigh, "Listen Ash, there is no need to be so guarded. I just want to talk, that's all."

"Oh forgive me, I'm just being cautious considering everything you put us through since the day we met. Now hurry up and tell us why we're here already."

"Since you asked so nicely, the reason I asked Sing to bring you two here is I wanted to apologize for all I've done to you two."

Eiji's eyes widened at the others words, but Ash wasn't the least bit convinced. "Do you seriously expect me to believe that?"

"What would have to gain for lying to you now, Ash?"

"Well after the whole "I'm Professor Dawson's son" façade, I've stopped believing anything you say."

Yut-Lung held up his hands in defense as he replied, "Okay I deserved that and I know I caused you a lot of trouble for you and your friends."

"Trouble doesn't even describe it. While you were playing your little role as a doctor's fake adoptive son, you hire three goons to attack Max's family. Do you have any idea what those creeps did to Jessica, they raped her and endangered her son. Oh but don't worry after you aided my escape from Dino's mansion, I made sure they got what they deserved."

Dark purple eyes widened in shock at this realization. "Okay first of all, they were acting on my brothers' orders and they weren't supposed to even go that far."

"Well they did; Jessica even told me it took her a full six months to get over that. That's the problem with hiring no good bastards to do your dirty work, they improvise. Then you had the audacity to use your damn family name and threaten Nadia's life to manipulate Shorter into doing your dirty work of kidnapping Eiji and basically handing him over to Dino to be his unwilling lab rat for that damn drug." Eiji cringed in remembrance of that horrible scene where he and Ash lost their good friend. Ash's hand quivered as he continued, "Even though that drug had a hold on his mind he had the strength to tell me to free him from the pain. With these hands, I shot my best friend; do you have any idea how sick it made me to do that to him?!"

"I could tell because I witnessed the whole thing when I snuck down to the basement. Believe me that was the last thing I wanted to see."

"Ha! You know damn well, you're just as to blame for what happened to Shorter. Then if that weren't enough, you join forces with Dino and give him the great idea to use Eiji as a means to get me into his filthy hands again so the bastard could have the excuse of bringing the one person on this earth that I could never beat into it. So when all this was going down, what were you doing Yut-Lung, reveling in the fact you were screwing around with our lives like it was some kind of game to you?"

The Chinese male's body quivered; he knew what the blond was saying was true and he had no right to argue back. At that moment, Sing stepped up to the young Lee's defense and said to the blond, "Alright Ash, he got the point; why don't you chill out?"

"Another thing, why are you even defending this guy Sing? Did you forget how he kidnapped his guys, picking them off one by one, then manipulated two of your guys into killing me and Eiji? Let's also not forget him planting the idea of killing me in your brother's head."

"Yeah, I know how messed up that was, but Yut-Lung admitted his mistakes and is trying to do what he can to make up for what he's done."

"Good for him Sing, but regardless of how guilty he feels, it will never bring back those who suffered for his damn spite. Where I stand he's no better than Dino, Arthur or those damn brothers of his."

"Look Ash, I realize the crap Yut-Lung did was wrong, but that was going too far. Yut-Lung is nothing like his brothers; you have no idea what they put him through growing up. They took away what was dear to him and used him like a tool for their own needs."

"That's funny, because that's exactly what he did to Shorter and your guys." Then Ash's eyes peered over towards the other with anger swelling up in them, "So tell me Yut-Lung, how does it feel to be exactly like those snake brothers of yours? I bet their rolling in their graves knowing that the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Okay Ash, that's enough."

"I told you Sing, don't expect this to be a pleasurable visit. You knew this was what was going to come about if we came here."

Before Sing could retort, Yut-Lung put his hand on the other's shoulder to stop him. "It's alright Sing; what he says is true. Regardless of my past and my personal issues I ended up becoming just like the people I loathed with every fiber of my being. There was no excuse for what I have done; so I don't blame him for saying all this."

Ash scoffed as he said, "Well for once we actually agree on something. I've said my peace and now I'm leaving; let's go Eiji."

"No Ash, wait a minute." the Japanese male called out to him as he rose up from his seat.

"Wait for what?"

"We can't leave things like this." Ash was about to ask the other why not but saw him walk over to Yut-Lung.

The young Lee pursed his lips and turned his head to the side, "Let me guess, you want to scold me as well and remind me how much of a heartless snake I am?"

"No I think Ash scolded you enough for the both of us. What I want to know is why you were so hostile towards us."

"It's not like it matters why."

"Maybe not to you, but it does to me. When you and I talked that day you bailed me out of jail, you were hostile towards me and I couldn't understand why. Despite you attitude towards me, I sensed a deep sadness from you. I won't ask you to go into details, but if what Sing said about your brothers is true, then you have every right to be upset. However, regardless of your past, it didn't give you any right to drag others who had nothing to do with it in your business. To be honest, I'm still upset over the things you've done, but down the road, I'll learn to try and forgive you, so I'm willing to accept your apology."

All pairs of eyes landed on Eiji the moment he uttered those final words. "Why would you even try to forgive me like that?" Yut-Lung asked him in shock over this.

"Because life is too short to hold grudges and I believe everyone deserves a second a chance especially when they admit their mistakes. Besides, I've seen what grudges do to a person; it corrupts them and makes them feel justified to do sick and evil things. Arthur and Dino can attest to that. Besides if Sing believes you are willing to change then so do I. I consider Sing a good friend and I trust his judgement."

"Eiji…" Sing said amazed at the other's words.

"First Sing and now you; why do you show me kindness instead of scorning me for what I've done?" the young Lee asked still trying to understand the situation.

"Scorning you isn't going to solve anything or bring back what we've lost. Sometimes in life, no matter how difficult you have to learn to let go of the past. If you continue to let your past rule you, you can never truly move forward. So why don't we just start over?" Eiji moved closer towards the long haired male and held out his hand. "My name is Eiji Okumura." the tanned male said with a smile.

Yut-Lung gave the other a blank stare before he started chuckling. "You really are a naïve, good-natured fool." Eiji gave the other a puzzled look before he shook his hand and said, "My name is Yut-Lung Lee, it's nice to meet you."

"Well I certainly did not see this coming." Sing said amazed at the development before him.

"Ditto." Ash added before he walked over to the two Asians. He turned to Yut-Lung and said, "Not to ruin a touching moment, but I still don't like you, Yut-Lung. However, like Eiji said holding grudges isn't going to do any good. So if Eiji and Sing are willing to put the past behind them, then I guess I'm man enough to do it too."

"That's great Ash; you and Yut-Lung should shake on it." Eiji said happily with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Yeah let's not push it." Then he noticed Eiji giving him a pleading look that was too impossible and cute to resist. "Okay fine!" he groaned heavily has he shook the other's hand as well which made the young Lee give a thankful smile.

**To Be Continued…**


	8. Chapter Eight

**A Second Chance at Life**

**Final Chapter**

"Okay Eiji, if were done, can we go now?" Ash said to the other ready to leave.

"Aww, so soon?" Eiji asked him and the other nodded. The Japanese male signed as he turned to Yut-Lung and said, "Don't mind Ash, he just needs to get used to the idea of having a new friend."

"No I don't." the green eyed male said bluntly causing Eiji to elbow him in the gut.

"Ow!" he cried out in pain.

Yut-Lung stared at that Japanese male in shock as he asked, "You consider me a friend; after everything that happened?"

"Of course besides all that is water under the bridge. What matters is the now." Eiji replied with a bright smile.

At that moment, they all saw tears streaming down the young Chinese male's cheeks as he wept. "Oh are you alright; did I say anything wrong?! Anybody have a tissue, a hanky or something?!"

"No it's alright, I'll just use my sleeve." the young Lee said in between sobs.

Ash gazed at the scene in complete shock. He couldn't believe the guy who had been his enemy was actually showing human emotion. "Is he seriously crying right now?"

"Shocked me too when I first saw it." Sing added.

Then Ash noticed Eiji trying to comfort Yut-Lung by lightly patting his shoulder as he said, "There, there; let it out." It kind of irked Ash to see his lover give the young Lee such tender care.

Sing noticed the slight look of envy on the blond's face. The Chinese American grinned he said, "Careful there Ash, your jealously is showing."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sing I'm not jealous." Ash retorted.

"Relax dude, Yut-Lung isn't going to take your precious Eiji away from you."

"Who asked you?!" the blond gang leader exclaimed in anger making the other laugh in response. Once Ash regained his composure, he asked the young Chinatown leader, "So what's up with you and the little prince anyway?"

Sing furrowed his eyebrow at the other as he answered, "Nothin'; we're just working together to rebuild Chinatown and were just friends."

"And that's all?" Ash narrowed his eyes at the other as a sly grin arose on his face.

"What are you trying to say, dude?" Sing asked the other wondering what he was implying.

"Oh nothing it just seems like you care a lot about him more than what you're letting on."

A slight blush ran across the young Chinatown leader's face as he turned to the side, "It's none of your business."

"So I am right."

"Oh shut up!"

Once Yut-Lung calmed down, he and Eiji happened to notice the other two in deep conversation. "I wonder what those two are talking about?" the long haired male asked.

"I'm not sure, but it looks like they're having fun."

"Really from where I stand, it looks more like a big brother taunting his younger sibling."

Eiji chuckled before he stared at them with a thankful look in his eyes, "We sure are lucky to have those two in our lives; am I right?"

"I completely agree with you." Yut-Lung replied as he started at them as well, specifically Sing.

"Hey Eiji, let's get going!" Ash called out to the other.

"Okay then." Eiji turned to young Lee and said, "Well Yut-Lung, I guess I'll be seeing you around. Maybe we can hang out together sometime."

Yut-Lung stared at the other in shock for a brief second before a small smile arose on his face. "Sure, I would like that."

"Great; well I better get going, bye." Eiji said before heading over to Ash. Before the pair left, they exchanged good byes with Sing and Yut-Lung, and headed on out.

Once Ash and Eiji left, Yut-Lung turned to Sing and asked him, "So Sing, what were you and Ash talking about?"

The young Chinatown leader jumped at the question as he replied in a nervous tone of voice, "I-I-It was nothin' important."

"It sure didn't seem like nothing." Then the young Lee noticed the other's face was slightly reddened, "Hey why are you blushing?"

"N-N-No reason!" Sing stammered as he kept diverting his eyes from the other.

A sly grin arose on Yut-Lung's face due to being amused at how his friend was acting. Sing actually looked kind of cute when he was nervous. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were falling for me, Sing."

The short haired male's whole face grew bright red as he cried out in embarrassment, "W-What are you talkin' about?!"

"It's okay, you don't have to be so shy." Yut-Lung said in between chuckles.

"I'm not being sh…!" At that moment, Sing was interrupted by the long haired male leaving a chaste kiss against his reddened cheek. The Chinese American felt as though hot steam was coming out his ears and his face grow an even darker shade of red.

Yut-Lung pulled away from the shocked male and gave him a charming smile. "You're really amazing Sing and I appreciate all that you've done for me. Even though I did some unforgivable things, you were still willing to look past them and give me a chance. So consider the kiss as a thank you gift for all the kindness you've shown me." Instead of getting a reply, he noticed Sing just staring at him dumbstruck with mouth agape which made him laugh. "What's the matter, you want another smooch?" Yut-Lung asked in a teasing tone.

"Stop sayin stuff like that or I'll get the wrong idea!"

"What do you mean?"

"Y-Y-You're gonna make me think you actually l-like me in "that" way!"

"Maybe I want you to think that." Then the young Lee started to heads towards the door while he said, "Now why don't we get some dinner; I'm sure the cook is done by now." While he walked away, Sing immediately ran after him demanding to know what the other meant by that.

* * *

After leaving Yut-Lung's place, Ash and Eiji took an evening stroll through Central park. The night sky was clear and filled with stars and the temperature was slightly cool, but still comfortable. Eiji stretched his arms to the sky while breathing in the night air, "It such a nice night and it feels good out here."

"I agree," Then Ash noticed a nearby park bench next to a bed of pink and yellow flowers facing a small lake. "Hey Eiji, you want to sit down over there?"

"Sounds good." the said male replied as he and Ash walked over to the bench to take a seat. Once they sat down, they admired the sight of the reflection of the moon shining on the lake's surface. The slight breeze blowing caused little ripples to form on the water; it was such a calming effect. Eiji smiled at the sight as he said, "It's such a beautiful view, isn't it?"

The blond nodded in agreement. "That it is." Then he turned to Eiji and said to him, "No matter how many times it happens, you never cease to amaze me, Eiji."

"What makes you say that all of a sudden?"

"Despite what Yut-Lung did to us, you're willing to look past all that and try to forgive him."

"Well yeah; like I said, everyone deserves a second chance. I'm glad you are willing to do the same."

"I still may not like the guy, but I respect your decision and for your sake, I'll try to get along with him."

Eiji gave the other a sweet smile before laying his head against his shoulder. "Well that's good enough for me."

A slight blush ran across Ash's face at the simple gesture. It still surprised him how much Eiji affected him with simple gestures like this. He always felt at peace with the Japanese male and he wouldn't trade that feeling for anything else in the world. He nestled in closer to the other, and he felt that soft black strands tickle his cheek. He let out a small sigh as he said, "It's so strange."

Dark brown eyes looked up into soft green ones in wonder. "What's strange?" Eiji asked.

"It's the first time I'd ever felt at peace. Don't get me wrong, I always feel like that when I'm around you, but for once, I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder or worrying about someone coming after me or you."

"Well now that your enemies are no longer around to torment you, you shouldn't have anything else to worry about."

"I guess your right; I've been so used to constantly being aware of my surroundings and overly alert to everyone and everything around me. This sense of peace and serenity is so foreign to me; it almost seems too good to be true, y'know?"

"I can understand why you'd feel that way." Eiji pulled away slightly from the other and took his hand in his and gave him a warm smile. "There's no one left to make you suffer anymore so now all this seems unreal. Just give it time, you'll get used to it and I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Seriously Eiji, are you real, or are you one of those fairy tale princes."

The black haired male's face turned bright red. "I-I-I wouldn't exactly call me a prince, besides I think you fit that description more than me. You were like one when you got me out of that room at Golzine's mansion."

Ash furrowed his eyebrow at the other as he asked, "You know not many princes come in ripped shirt and pants covered in bloodstains with guns a blazing right?"

"True, but you did save me and a prince saves a damsel in distress. Besides regardless of your attire, you were a hero in my eyes."

"Maybe, but according to those stories, the prince kisses the princess awake from a deep sleep." Ash said grinning like a Cheshire cat at how his comment made a slight blush run across the Japanese male's face, "Who knew you were so bold, Eiji?"

"Humph; okay, now you're just teasing me!" Eiji huffed turning his head to the side, pouting cutely.

The green eyed male gave a small chuckle as he placed a chaste kiss against the other's warm cheek. "Aww, come on don't be mad, Onii-chan."

Dark brown eyes peered over to the other giving him those puppy dog eyes. Eiji signed heavily before a small smile broke out on his face, "Seriously, you are so full of it."

"But you still love me."

"Aren't you lucky?" Eiji said with his voice dripping in sarcasm before they both started laughing in unison. After the heartfelt laughter died down, the black haired male asked the other, "So where do we go from here?"

"Well does your offer to take me to Japan still stand? I know it's gonna take some time to get my papers in order, but…"

Eiji's dark eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as he replied, "You bet it is! Oh you're going to love it; there's so many places I want to show you. You can even meet my family too!"

"You think that will be okay, I mean due to what I put you through?"

"Oh don't worry about that; I've been telling them all about you and they want to meet you especially my mom. She's looking forward to meeting her future son in law."

"Son in law?!" Ash cried as Eiji nodded his head innocently. The blond groaned in defeat as he scratched the back of his head, "Well, I hope I don't disappoint."

"Don't worry, the minute they see you, they'll love you."

"As much as you do, Onii-chan?" Ash asked cutely with a grin.

"They might, but no one will love you as much as I do." the Japanese male replied like it was nothing at all.

The blond blush furiously as he placed his hand over his face,  _"Seriously, how cute can this guy get?!"_

Eiji gave the other a puzzled look as he asked, "Ash, are you okay?" Instead of getting a reply, he felt the other place his forehead against his making him slightly blush at the gesture. "Um, Ash…?" the black haired male said timidly.

"I know I've asked you this before, but I'll ask you again. Will you stay with me, Eiji?" Ash asked him with a small yet warm smile.

The Japanese male nodded as he gave the other a heartfelt smile as well, "Of course, after all, my soul is always with you."

"I'll hold you to that." Ash replied as he and Eiji both shared another heartfelt laugh. Even though all of their troubles are behind them, that doesn't mean no more challenges await them. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, but they do know as long as they face it together, they will be alright, but for now, they just wanted to enjoy the first night of their lives together.

**The End**


End file.
